


Some Things Never Change....and Some Things Do

by LJF



Series: Life in This Miraculous Reality [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Leaving Home, Minor Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Moving, Normally, Past Relationship(s), Plans For The Future, Realistic, Relationship Goals, Separate ideas, Sorry Not Sorry, Sort Of, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, but not what you're thinking, but this was a fic I needed to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:15:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21622834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJF/pseuds/LJF
Summary: A woman with a single lingering regret (and it's not what you'd think) returns to her childhood hometown to face the past.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Life in This Miraculous Reality [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1548088
Kudos: 15





	Some Things Never Change....and Some Things Do

**Author's Note:**

> Question of the day: Is this set in the canon universe, or is it an alternate, contemporary/no miraculous AU?  
> Answer: I honestly don't know-- and it really doesn't matter, especially since, at this point, the characters are in their thirties. If it is the canonical universe, assume Hawkmoth has long been defeated, the reveal has long since happened, and Adrien and Marinette have been happily married for years and years.  
> If it isn't, they met in lycée, danced around each other for years, the finally got together and, again, have been happily married for years and years.  
> Either way, it doesn't really matter. This fic is about Alya (and Nino, but really only as a foil to Alya) Whether or not she ever wrote the LadyBlog, became Rena Rouge, etc, is irrelevant for the purposes of this story. Just know that she did write a highly successful news blog (topic notwithstanding) as a teenager. As for what happened afterwards....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Marinette have a heart-to-heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I could name every [boy] that [s]he took out  
>  And from my memory dial [her] housephone...._

"Alya!" The woman at the door smiles warmly, clearly excited. "It's so nice to see you! Please, come in!"

The tall brunette stepps into the house without looking carefully-- and pays the price. 

"Ouch!"

"Omigoodness, are you okay?" The petite little woman reaches out an arm to help her.

"Oh, I'm fine," Alya says, rubbing her sore behind as she picks herself up off the floor. "Just bruised my pride by tripping right over a....teething ring?" She picks up the offending object.

"Oh, that must be Aimée's.....Cory must have been practicing his juggling with them again," explains the blackhaired woman as she walks into the kitchen to wash off the ring and put it away."I'm sooooooo sorry about that. I haven't seen you in years, and the first thing my house does is try to kill you. It's such a mess."

"My fault for not sending advance notice," she replies as her friend pulls out a couple of bowls and ladles in soup from a small pot on the stove.

"You actually caught me at a really good time," she explains, as she gives Alya a bowl. "My husband took the kids out to dinner under the guise of 'daddy time'-- which is also 'mommy gets a break time.'"

"All of them?" Alya's eyes roam around the photos decorating every wall in the house, trying to figure out just how many children her old friend has at this point. _Four? Five? Six? There's no way it can be seven, right?_

"Yeah," says the mother, beaming widely. "He's so good with them. He's such a great Dad. To tell you the truth, somedays I think they like him better than me."

"Oh?" Alya says, raising an eyebrow. "The great Marinette Dupain-Cheng admitting defeat?"

Marinette laughs, one hand on her slightly-swollen stomach.

"Oh, I've missed you, Alya," she says. "How have you been?"

So Alya tells her all about her job as a wartime reporter. It's not always the safest or happiest job, but it's everything she's always wanted.

And Marinette tells her about _her_ life. These days, she runs a small tailoring business, but it's not her _life_. Her real life is her kids, her husband, her _family._ Alya's never seen her childhood friend so blissfully happy. (And it's only five kids, by the way. With another on the way and no planned end in sight. Apparently Marinette and her husband both hated being only children and wanted their kids to have plenty of siblings. Alya can't relate.)

After they finish eating, Marinette rinses off their bowls and spoond and puts them in the dishwasher. Then they head to the living room couch.

"So," asks Marinette, leaning forward, chin in hand, eyes sparkling with interest, "Anyone _special_ in your life?"

And Alya. Just. Snaps!

"Why does everyone always ask that?! Is there something wrong with being single? I don't have time to deal with a romantic relationship! I'm perfectly happy being on my own! Your life is your business, but just because _you_ settled down with your lycée sweetheart and a million kids doesn't mean that's what we all want!"

 _Wa to go, Alya,_ chimes her inner voice (which as gotten steadily more obnoxious through the years), _You just yelled at a pregnant woman. That's a new low_ _._

It's all true, by the way. She's content on her own. She loves her job, but all the traveling to dangerous areas kind of hinders relationships. And she isn't interested in being a (mostly) stay at home mom like Marinette.

But none of that is why she's only been on three dates in the past ten years. And none of that is why she snapped at Marinette.

And Marinette, with the wisdom that parenting five very different children brings, understands right away.

"When's did you last see him?" No need to ask who _he_ is.

"The ten year reunion." She'd thought ten years would be enough to diffuse any awkward tension between them. (Spoiler alert: It hadn't.) They'd miserably danced around each other the whole time, and neither of them had been able to get out of there fast enough. There's no way she's _ever_ going back to one of those things again.

Marinette sighs. "You've got to talk to him at sometime, Alya. It's been years. This isn't good for either of you."

"But I _hurt_ him, Marinette," she says, on the verge of tears. "He gave me his heart and I threw it back in his face. He loved me, and I just.... _left_ him. Because I was _selfish_."

"Did you love him?" The petite beauty's eyes are serious, without a glimmer of amusement.

If it were anyone else, Alya would be insulted. _"Of course I loved him,"_ she'd angrily retort, _"Would I be this broken up over him if I didn't?"_

But this is Marinette. Marinette, who’d been her first friend in Paris. Marinette, who'd been through collège and lycée with her. Marinette, who’d seen the whole, disastrous relationship from start to finish. Alya can't lie to her.

"No," she admits, "I enjoyed his company. I appreciated having him in my life. I was physically attracted to him. I _did_ love his friendship. But no, I didn't _love_ him-- not the way he loved me." It's a truth she's never had the courage to utter aloud. 

Marinette nods, unsurprised. "Do you regret it?"

Does she regret leaving? Following her dream? No. She wouldn’t have been happy, giving up her dreams like that, and she would have made him equally miserable.

But that's not what Marinette is asking.

"Yes," she answers, breaking down in tears. Marinette wraps her in a hug.

* * *

Much later, after plenty of crying, hugging, and chatting about everything and nothing and somethings in between, there comes a knock on the door.

"Guess that's my cue," Alya says, standing up and checking her watch, "I'll say hi to the hubby and kids, and then I've got to run. But I'm in Paris for the next couple of weeks, so we should definitely meet up again."

"Definitely," Marinette agrees as she opens the door to reveal a tall blond holding a sleeping baby in one arm. His other hand is wrapped around the tiny hand of an exhausted toddler, and there are three older kids of varying ages peering curiously at Alya from behind him.

"Hey, Adrien," Alya says as her tiny friend takes the baby and goes to put her down, "Long time no see."

Adrien gapes at her for a moment, but, as he's a gentleman first and foremost, he quickly smiles and kisses her cheek.

"It's good to see you, Alya," Adrien says, "It's been a long time. Kids, this is your Aunt Alya." She waves at them.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay," she apologizes, "I'll stop by to meet you all in a few days, alright?"

Then she darts out of the house, racing to catch the next Métro.

Not only does she manage to catch it, but she actually manages to get a seat (a rare feat on the normal packed Métro line). The reporter in her hates sitting in awkward silence, so she turns to her seatmate.

"Guess it's not a very busy night," she says, "Where are you headed?"

"Hmm?" He pulls out an earbud and turns to look at her. His eyes, at first mildly disinterested, quickly widen. She's sure hers do the same thing.

 _You have_ got _to be kidding me._ The snarky inner voice is back. _Could this get any worse?_

Which is a terrible thing to ask, because the answer is almost always yes.

* * *

"I don't know Alya was back in town," Adrien says to his wife after all the kids have been put to bed. "How long was she here?"

"Oh, hours," Marinette replies. "It was really nice to spend time with her.

"You two haven't seen or spoken to each other in years! What could you possibly talk about?"

"Some friendships are like that that," says Marinette, smiling at her husband's naiveté. "You can fall out of contact for years on end, but the moment you see each other again, it's like no time has passed. My mother told me that once, and I didn't really believe her, but I get it now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It's been ten years now  
>  I would have [her] back tomorrow, and [s]he'd still fight anyone who tried to touch me._

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! For anyone who also reads TDoaFC, I'm really sorry about the long, unexpected hiatus. I moved, and have been busy with that. Plus I had to return _the_ book to the lovely people who graciously allowed me to borrow it for months on end. Not to mention that it's a story I'm very emotionally invested in, so I spend a long time writing and perfecting the chapters to get them _just write_. (HA! I'll have to share that one with Chat Noir.)  
> All that put together means that the latest chapter has been a very long time coming and will probably be a little while longer. 
> 
> In the meantime, there will be other adventures of Life in This Miraculous Reality, including the one you just read. (And, in case you were wondering if the two were set in the same universe, I doubt it. It's possible, but unlikely. Some of the stories will specifically set in the same universe, but if not specified, assume that they aren't.)
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](https://ljf613.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
